History of Race
Stephanie Stewart
University of Phoenix

Tracey, it was a pleasure seeing you again after all this time. Last we spoke you had mentioned that you were writing a research paper on the History of Asian Americans. I hoped to get the opportunity to give you a little bit of research that I have uncovered through my reading and discussions in my Ethics class at University of Phoenix. You may be interested to know that Asian Americans are of Asian descent. According to the US Census Bureau’s definition of Asians it refers to a person having origins of any of the original peoples of the Far East, South Asia, or the Indian subcontinent. Around the late 1880’s Chinese immigrants began coming to America specifically around the time of the California Gold Rush. It wasn’t until about the 1950’s that Japanese nationals could become nation citizens of the United States.
Remember we were talking about my grandmother and how she fell in love with that solder from World War II? Turns out he was a lieutenant during the famous Japanese’s internment camps. They were camps that were designed to stop the threat of Japanese warfare from within the United States. However, it was one of the biggest mistakes in US history and 1988 president Regan allotted $20,000 for anyone that was interned in these camps. Since World War II the United States has allied with Japan and many other Asian countries. I remember when you and I went to Japan and spent that long holiday in Tokyo. I remember feeling a bit out of place when we were there as I am sure many Asian Americans may have felt when they first entered this country. There has been no shortage in stereotypes regarding Asian Americans since they began migrating to the US. Many of the early movies and even movies today portray Asian Americans with different stereotypes. For example, most roles for Asian Americans were portraying them in Kung Fu movies, prostitutes or intellectual geeks. Many of these stereotypes are just now beginning to change and Asian Americans are dawning new roles portraying leading men and women in film and television. I can only imagine what kind of pain a person must fell to see their culture mocked within the media. Like remember that one kid from class in 12th grade that everyone wanted to copy their homework from. He wasn’t even smart, but people just assumed he was. Asian Americans have come a long way since they began immigrating to the United States many of the early legislation prevented Asian Americans from owning land or leasing it. While in the mid 1800’s Chinese Americans made up about 80% of the workforce, Japanese and Chinese immigrants were barred from owning, leasing or farming land. Can you imagine working on a railroad for hours on end and not being able to own your own home in order to provide for your family? Most of the railroads that built this country were created from the sweat and hard work provided by Chinese labor. It is pretty amazing to think that this country was built by many who weren’t even born in the United States. These types of laws were highly discriminatory